Building a Program in Earth System Science at UC Davis
David Osleger, Dept. of Geology, UCD
The departments of Land, Air & Water and Geology at UC Davis are in the planning
stages of developing a joint major in Earth System Science, with a focus on
sustainability. We’ve built a curriculum around classes that are already on the
books, with three courses to be developed to fully cover the discipline. The
curriculum for the B.S. in Earth System Science (ESS) is built upon a foundation of
chemistry, physics, calculus, and biology. A GE-level class in ESS exposes the
student to the connectedness between each component of the Earth system,
biogeochemical cycling and the systems approach. The practical aspect of this
introductory class is to recruit students into the major. Depth subject matter
consists of 8 core courses that integrate the principles of hydrology, atmospheric
sciences, geology, oceanography, ecology and climate. Majors are required to
choose one course from each of the five emphases (geosphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere, biosphere & critical thinking and analysis) to encourage breadth of
understanding, plus an additional 12 units from any of the emphases to enable the
student to customize their coursework. A capstone course is required of all seniors
that combines independent research in their chosen emphasis with aspects of policy
and management.
The overarching goal of the program is to direct students away from the traditional
view of our planet as a set of discrete, isolated sub-systems (e.g., the oceans, the
solid earth, the atmosphere) and toward a modern perspective that concentrates on
the connectedness and interactions between sub-systems. The Earth System Science
approach is a modern response to understanding such swiftly developing
modifications as climate change, ecosystem stress and resource depletion. We think
that students are increasingly more receptive to a multi-disciplinary view of earth
and environmental sciences and that we can attract more students into the sciences
through this major.
The strength of the proposed program at UCD is its interdisciplinarity, merging the
diverse and overlapping talents of faculty currently separated by the artificial
boundaries of departments and colleges. Issues of concern include 1) a fear that we
may cannibalize our own majors, weakening each department’s enrollments at the
expense of the new major’s growth, 2) a softening of standards to attract students
who otherwise may be wary of the rigor of majors in the geosciences and
environmental sciences, 3) the lack of a direct pipeline into careers after graduation,
and 4) the vague nature of the phrase ‘earth system science.’ Informal discussions
with students in our current classes suggests that they don’t have a clear image of
what earth systems science means or how it may help them to develop goals for
their post-graduation future.
Career options for students graduating with BS degrees in ESS are comparable to
those typically associated with graduates from related science programs. Graduates
with the ESS degree will be prepared to enter an array of scientific careers based in
private industry, government, non-governmental agencies and
environmental/geotechnical consulting. ESS graduates will be well positioned to
enter secondary education in a diversity of scientific disciplines. Some graduates
may use their science training as a starting point for a career in environmental law.
ESS graduates will have the requisite quantitative and scientific foundation for
graduate study and research in environmental science, geoscience, atmospheric and
hydrologic science, as well as climate science. The special talents that will
differentiate ESS graduates from other science majors are 1) their broad
understanding of how natural systems interact, 2) an awareness for recognizing
connections between apparently disparate disciplines, and 3) the influence of
human activities on natural systems.